GLUTEN FREE GLOBAL

This is one of the hardest things about having coeliac disease - you want to go out, but can you really trust a stranger to keep you and your food safe from our mortal enemy gluten?

To give yourself the best chance of safely enjoying a meal out of home,  consider my five-step process below:

1. BEFORE going, research: Call them up and ask if they have coeliac friendly options. That’ll give you a very quick idea of whether it’s w...

Flying can be a stressful experience for coeliac’s. After all, once we’re 30,000 feet up in the air, the options for food are pretty limited. But air travel needn’t be an anxiety-riddled experience with the right preparation. Some gluten free meals are even yummy (check out the below!)

Pic: @glutenfreeLDN

That said, here are my top tips for flying as a coeliac:

• Book a gluten free meal when booking the flight and then CALL 72...

Thanks to my amazing coeliac Facebook group, I'm happy to present to you our collective list of all the gluten free friendly cafes we are aware of in Victoria.

As always, it is your responsibility to discuss your dietary requirements with staff at the listed restaurants and discern whether you believe they can cater for your needs. Although all eateries listed were vetted and considered coeliac safe at the time of writing, circ...

It’s fantastic to see so many gluten free products available, however, it can be difficult to know which to choose! Plus, there’s nothing worse than spending an arm and a leg on a new product and finding out it’s rubbish! So that said, I thought I’d share my favourite products with you! Nothing sponsored, just my genuine faves.

Also super important to note that 80% of my diet is made up with naturally gluten free foods: rice, q...

The great oat debate…

When it comes to oats and the gluten free diet, you’d be forgiven if you’re a little confused.

After all, sometime they are considered gluten free, other times they’re not, and mostly this distinction comes down to where you live.

Weird, huh?

To explain why, it’s important to note that ‘gluten’ is a collective term for proteins found within wheat, rye, barley and oats. Respectively, they’re known as gliadin,...

Whether it’s a whiff of the bakery when you walk by, a friend gorging on a crispy meat pie or a really crappy day, we can all relate to times when you’ve felt like just giving up.

For me, it's a tie between Subway and Ben and Jerry's. The freshly baked bread and the sickly sweet waffle cones are almost impossible to resist.

But just when you feel like giving in PLEASE REMEMBER as a coeliac, eating gluten is more damaging that ju...

Although we all endeavour to avoid gluten as best as we can, it’s inevitable (particularly if we risk eating out) that it will happen at some point.

Of course, everyone’s reaction varies. Some mightn’t react after unknowingly eating a bite of gluten-filled cake while others are ill for days after the same knife is used to cut their sandwich that was used for a normal one.

But no matter your external reaction you are still causin...

I was diagnosed with coeliac disease at the age of 13.

Mine wasn’t a sad tale really. I was one of the lucky ones.

I was never sick, bloated or tired. I wasn’t short and pale. In fact, I simply had no symptoms at all.

I was one of the 5% of coeliacs who are asymptomatic, which may sound like a blessing, but the reality is not so kind.

If it wasn’t for an insightful GP who realized I had a history of coeliac disease in my family, m...

What is coeliac disease?
 

Coeliac disease (pronounced seel-ee-ak and sometimes spelt celiac) is a autoimmune disease. When people with the disease consume gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and oats, the immune system mistakenly recognises it as danger and starts attacking the body. This reaction causes inflammatation and damage to the small bowel. Specifically, the villi (small hair like projections) which line our...